Elon Musk has struck a deal to buy Twitter with a promise to reduce censorship on the platform, raising questions about what his approach will mean for the “digital town square”.
Human rights groups have raised concerns that a lack of moderation could lead to a rise in hate speech. Many Twitter users are also asking whether this means accounts suspended by the company will be allowed back.
The most high-profile person to have been suspended was Donald Trump. After the news of the deal was announced, human rights groups raised concerns about hate speech on Twitter and the power it would give Mr Musk, who is a self-described “free speech absolutist”.
He has been vocal in his criticism of the platform’s policies on moderating content, arguing that Twitter needs to be a genuine forum for free speech.
In a statement after striking the deal he described free speech as “the bedrock of a functioning democracy”. In a Twitter thread, Amnesty International said: “We are concerned with any steps that Twitter might take to erode enforcement of the policies and mechanisms designed to protect users.
“The last thing we need is a Twitter that wilfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including women, non-binary persons, and others.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on the concerns raised. Donald Trump’s account was terminated permanently last year in the wake of the 6 January riots at the Capitol building in Washington.
But even if his Twitter ban is reversed, Mr Trump says he does not plan to return to Twitter, instead opting to use his own platform, Truth Social. “I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Mr Trump told Fox News.
He added that he believed Mr Musk, who he called a “good man”, will “make improvements” to the platform. Representatives of Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a technology analyst at investment management firm TF International Securities, told the BBC that Mr Trump may decide to return to the platform if he runs in the 2024 US presidential election.
“Twitter is still a better choice for him to have a voice, if Twitter is willing to restore his account,” Mr Kuo said. “It’s not easy to build a platform with more influence than Twitter before the next presidential election.”
